History Degree
Bachelor's Degree Intelligence Report · CIP 54.01
Part of History · Data sourced from O*NET, U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard & IPEDS.
Structural ROI Scorecard
Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (Bachelor's, 4yr post-grad)π Deep Specialization
History graduates flow into one concentrated career domain. This is a high-conviction major β if you love the field, the career pool is deep and specialized.
Management
8 occupations mapped
The Reality Check
You are entering a market where your degree serves as a generalist signaling tool rather than a technical license. With median earnings of $50,680 and $24,000 in debt, the financial math is tight. You aren't being paid for your knowledge of the French Revolution; you are being paid to manage people and processes.
The data shows a "Deep Specialization" in management. This means your career trajectory depends on your ability to pivot from archival research to organizational oversight. If you expect to work in a museum, the numbers suggest otherwise. Most of you will end up in mid-level corporate or social service management roles where the degree acts as a proxy for critical thinking and written communication.
The Vulnerability Audit
Your greatest asset is a JobPolaris AI Resilience score of 91/100. While AI can summarize data, it struggles with the contextual judgment and human nuance required in management. Your role is safe from automation because it relies on qualitative interpretation that machines cannot yet replicate.
However, the Structural Leverage Score of 53/100 indicates you lack the bargaining power found in specialized STEM fields. Your career ceiling is often tied to your specific employer rather than a rare, portable technical skill. While the Burnout Demand is a balanced 45/100, the risk isn't exhaustionβit's stagnation. Without supplemental certifications, you may find yourself stuck in administrative loops.
The Thrive Verdict
You will thrive here if you possess a high social battery and a desire for independence. An Autonomy score of 76/100 suggests you won't be micro-managed, but the "Social Energy Required" tag means you cannot hide in a library. This path rewards the pragmatic intellectual who can synthesize complex information and communicate it clearly to a team.
With a THRIVE Index of 67/100, this is a stable, middle-of-the-road career. It suits those who value steady progress over high-stakes competition. To maximize this degree, focus on developing project management skills to turn your analytical depth into operational results.
πΌ Careers This Major Unlocks
These JobPolaris career profiles have direct O*NET crosswalk alignment to History graduates.
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